Board game incorporating doll play

ABSTRACT

A game is provided including a board, player pieces, and collectible articles associated with the player pieces. The player pieces navigate the game board to collect a predetermined set of articles, which may be coupled to the player pieces. The first player to complete the collection wins.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/640,527 entitled “BOARD GAME INCORPORATING DOLL PLAY,” filed Dec. 30, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Dolls, board games, and scavenger hunts provide significant enjoyment for children of many ages. Children also enjoy mimicking adults in activities like shopping. By incorporating some of the features of adult activities, doll play, and a scavenger hunt into a board game, children are able to enjoy the thrill of those activities while sitting indoors. This disclosure relates generally to board games, and more specifically, to board games that incorporate doll play and collection of articles associated with dolls. Games incorporating dolls and/or shopping or other collection of articles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,092,642, 1,125,867, 1,498,591, 3,367,662, 3,468,540, 3,817,531, 3,876,207, 3,926,438, 3,951,411, 3,989,251, 3,990,707, 4,196,904, 4,634,129, 4,950,912, 4,979,324, 4,993,717, 5,062,645, 5,066,015, 5,190,292, 5,547,198, 5,662,327, 5,752,700, 6,634,642, and 6,659,840 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a board game that incorporates doll play and aspects of a scavenger hunt. More specifically, it relates to a game in which players move their player pieces along the board to collect various articles that may be combined with the player pieces.

The advantages of the present disclosure will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of game components including a board, player pieces, accessories, and cards.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary player pieces and accessories for use in the game of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary board for use in the game of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary cards for use in the game of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram demonstrating set-up and play options of the game of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE

FIG. 1 illustrates a game 10 that combines a board game with other toys, such as dolls. Game 10 may be configured to mimic an adult activity, such as shopping, and may be designed to test a player's memory and organizational skills. Game 10 may be configured to accommodate differences in ages, interests, and genders of various potential players.

Game 10 may include a plurality of player pieces 12 that may represent each player's progress throughout the game. As shown in FIG. 1, a variety of dolls may be included with the game to incorporate doll play into a board game. Although player pieces 12 are shown in the form of dolls, player pieces 12 may take the form of other toys, such as animals, vehicles, robots, and the like to provide a variety of play options and a theme suitable for the intended audience of players.

An object of game 10 is to be the first player to collect a set of articles or accessories 14 from a plurality of accessories, at least some of which are related to the player pieces. The accessories may be adapted to couple to the corresponding player piece to increase the play options during the game. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when player pieces 12 take the form of dolls, the collectible articles may take the form of clothing. In examples of the game in which the player pieces take the form of vehicles, articles 14 may take the form of automotive accessories, such as a spoiler, decorative hub caps, and the like.

In the illustrative example shown in FIG. 1, player pieces 12 may be adapted to move along board 16. Articles 14 may be collected based on play across a board 16 as determined by a random indicia generator 18 and cards 20. Random indicia generator 18 and cards 20 may include play instructions, such as by indicating or affecting a player piece's movement or other play options.

The player pieces may be moved along board 16 according to the results of random indicia generator 18, which may take the form of dice, spinners, cards, or any other suitable chance device or combination thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, random indicia generator 18 takes the form of a six-sided die having five numerical sides and one iconic side. The icon may be chosen to match the theme on which the game is based and may have a special meaning within the game.

Referring to FIG. 2, player pieces 12 may include figurines 22, such as dolls. The player pieces may include a base portion 24, such as shoes, which may be visually unique from other base portions. Figurines 22 may be removably coupled to base portion 24, or may, be integrally formed with base portion 24. Base portion 24 may be color-coded or otherwise reference another game component, such as accessories 14 or one or more of cards 20, or assist players in remembering which player pieces belong to which players.

Also illustrated in FIG. 2 are accessories 14. As previously noted, in versions of the game in which the player pieces take the form of dolls, accessories 14 may take the form of clothing 26 that may be used to dress the dolls as each player progresses through the game. Accessories 14 may be configured to couple with one or more of player pieces 12. Coupling may be accomplished through any suitable method, including but not limited to, stretching the accessory over the player piece, pin-slot engagements, clasps, adhesives, and the like. Player pieces 12 may be configured to produce a response to coupling of an accessory, such as an audio or visual response.

In the illustrative example of a game board shown in FIG. 3, board 16 may have a plurality of board spaces 28, along which player pieces 12 move. A subset of spaces 28 may form locations related to accessories 14, such as stores for clothing in the case of a game incorporating dolls. These locations will be generally referred to as collection spaces 30. The remainder of board spaces 28 may provide a path 32 to travel between collection spaces 30. One or more of spaces 28 may be designated as a start and/or finish location 34. In the example shown, this location appears as a vehicle used to transport player pieces 12 to a shopping center. Placement of a player piece on or across particular spaces 28 may be necessary to enter other spaces, such as collection spaces 30. For example, a player may need to obtain a particular result from random indicia generator 18 to move his or her player piece 12 across an entrance 36, such as a doorway, in order to enter the associated collection space.

Accessories 14 may be associated with collection spaces 30. For example, when accessories 14 take the form of clothing, collection spaces 30 take the form of stores common to a shopping mall. In other versions of the game, such as when player pieces 12 take the form of animals, accessories 14 may take the form of food and collection spaces 30 may take the form of zoo habitats.

As depicted in FIG. 4, cards 20 may be divided into several sets, including a set of collection cards 38, a set of item cards 40, and a set of command cards 42. Cards 20 may be related to one another and may be used individually or in combination to complete a task or other play option.

Collection cards 38 may include collection indicia 44 that indicate which accessories 14 correspond to a particular player piece for a round of game play. For example, collection indicia 44 may indicate which accessories a player with that card may need to collect to win the game. Collection indicia 44 may include words, pictures, colors, or a combination thereof. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, a player must collect three particular clothing items to win the game, as demonstrated by the use of three collection indicia. In some versions of the game, a player may be required to correctly couple accessories 14 to player piece 12 at the time the accessories are obtained or in a manner determined by one of cards 20.

In some versions of the game, collection cards and/or accessories 14 may be associated with particular player pieces, such as base portion 24. For example, collection indicia 44 may correspond to a particular base portion having a color that matches the color of the indicia. Accessories 14 may also be a color that matches or otherwise corresponds to a particular base.

Item cards 40, also shown in FIG. 4, may include reference indicia 46 that refer to particular accessories 14. Reference indicia 46 may correspond to one or more of the plurality of accessories and one or more of collection indicia 44. Reference indicia 46 may therefore link one or more of the plurality of accessories to the collection indicia. For example, a player may need to obtain the combination of collection indicia 44 and reference indicia 46 to obtain a particular accessory 14. As shown in FIG. 4, a player associated with collection card 38 may obtain a hat for his or her player piece when the player turns over item card 40 showing a matching hat. Item cards 40 may be configured to be placed on a subset of board spaces 28.

Command cards 42 may include command indicia 48 that refer to one or more actions or play options available to a player when the card is drawn or at a time of the player's choosing, such as if the card may be assigned to another player or used as a wild card. The play option may be associated with the item cards and/or the accessories.

To play game 10, board 16 may be laid out on a table. Each player may randomly draw a collection card 38. Each player may take a doll 22 and place it in a base portion 24 of his or her choice. If there is an insufficient number of dolls, the players may lay the clothing in front of them as they collect it, using the base portion alone as a player piece. Each player may place his or her player piece 12 on the start space, such as a vehicle. All clothing may be stored on or adjacent to the board on a tray that represents a clothes rack (not shown). One or both of the item cards and command cards may be distributed among the different collection spaces 30.

Players move their player pieces 12 around board 16 visiting stores to collect the items listed on one or more of collection cards 38. For example, game 10 may begin with the players determining which accessories 14 each player needs to collect for his or her corresponding player piece in order to win the game. In one version of the game, players may draw a unique shopping list from a set of cards, such as collection cards 38. In other versions, each player may write his or her own list of articles from a pool of articles, or the list may be determined based on which player piece 12 each player chooses. For example, a player piece having a blue colored base portion 24 may be associated with a collection card having collection indicia 44 that correspond to a blue outfit.

The number and nature of accessories each player needs to collect may be varied to alter the complexity and length of the game and account for differences in ages and skill levels of the players involved. In some versions of the game, there may be an insufficient number of articles available so that players must race one another to obtain a particular accessory first. For example, if four players are playing the game, only three of a type of accessory may be available.

Random indicia generator 18 may indicate an available movement option, such as by indicating how many spaces 28 a player may move his or her player piece. Rolling another icon may have a special meaning within the game. For example, the icon may indicate that the player should roll again, move to a specific board space, move to a board space of the player's choosing, force another player to move his or her player piece to a different board space, and/or draw a command card 42.

Players may place their player pieces 12 on collection spaces 30 in a variety of ways. For example, players may need a particular dice roll or card, or may need to be at a prior space, such as entrance 36, to enter one or more of collection spaces 30. Each collection space may have a different prerequisite for admittance.

Once each accessory 14 is collected, it may be coupled to the corresponding player piece 12 to increase the play options of the game. In the examples shown, accessories 14 are used to clothe each player's doll as the accessories are collected. Accessories 14 may include audio and/or visual feedback in response to coupling with player pieces 12.

The winner of the game may be determined based on which player is the first to collect all of the predetermined articles 14 and move the corresponding player piece 12 to a finish position.

Since game 10 is played through matching of indicia and does not require money to collect the articles at each store, game 10 is suitable to be played with children who are too young to understand the use of money. However, in some versions of the game, money or tokens may be collected along the way for use at each store. In still other versions, each article may be further associated with a point value. In such a configuration, players may be competing with one another for some of the same articles 14 to increase their point values in addition to moving through the game to the finish line.

In one version of the game, two to four players take turns making their way around a mall in order to buy trendy new outfits. The first player to retrieve every item on his or her shopping list and return to the vehicle wins. The accessories may include pants and/or skirts, shirts and/or jackets, handbags, and the like.

The youngest player goes first. Players roll the die and move their doll the corresponding number of spaces. An exact roll is not needed to enter a store. Once a store is entered, the player may flip over one item card, which all players may view. If the card matches an item on that player's shopping list, the player may take the card and dress his or her doll in the corresponding item from the clothes rack. If the card does not match the shopping list, it is returned to the location from which it was taken. That player's turn is then over. Play progresses clockwise to the next player.

Players may re-enter the same store on their next turn to look at another card that is in that store. Players may not take an item that is not listed on their corresponding shopping lists.

As depicted in FIG. 4, a variety of command cards may be mixed in with the item cards or brought into game play via random indicia generator 18. For example, a Board Walk card 50 may direct a player to move to a particular board space, such as a start space or the opposite side of the board. A Window Shop card 52 may allow a player to view any card, such as an item card, in any store without moving his or her player piece to that store or showing the card to any other player. A Free card 54 may allow a player to couple an accessory to his or her player piece prior to matching an item card to a portion of the collection card. For example, a player may take any item of clothing from the clothes rack that the player is trying to collect. A Trade card 56 may direct a player to trade any game component that he or she has with another player. For example, the player may trade dolls, outfits, and/or collection cards with any other player of his or her choosing, or as directed by the card.

As demonstrated in FIG. 1, a method of playing game 10 is shown generally at 100. Set-up of the game, as indicated at 102, may include distribution of cards, such as item cards and/or command cards among some of the spaces of a game board, at 104. The set-up of the game may further include, at 106, association of one or more collection cards with each player piece selected to represent each player. Once the game begins, players take turns moving the player pieces. As indicated at 108, movement of a player piece may be determined by a variety of methods, such as by a random indicia generator 110 or by following instructions indicated by a card 112. The indicia may directly indicate to a player an allowed move, such as by indicating a number of spaces that a player piece may be moved, or may indirectly indicate an allowed move, such as by indicating that the player should draw a command card. The command card may provide a variety of play options. Command cards may be mixed in with the item cards and distributed among the board spaces, or may be set aside and brought into play by the random indicia generator.

When a player has completed a predetermined task, such as moving a player piece to a particular board space, the player may gain access to game features. For example, when a player piece is located on a collection space, as indicated at 114, the player may view an item card associated with that board space, as indicated at 116. At 118, if indicia on the item card match at least some of the indicia on the collection card, then a player may obtain the represented accessory and couple it to his or her player piece, as indicated at 120.

When a player moves his or her player piece but is unable to locate the player piece to a collection space, play progresses to the next player's turn, as indicated at 122. Play also progresses to the next player's turn, at 124, if the indicia on the item card does not match that player's collection card.

As indicated at 126, once a player's collection card has been completed (i.e., all of the indicated accessories have been collected), and the player has moved his or her player piece to a finish space, at 128, that player is declared the winner, at 130. Play may otherwise progress to the next player's turn if the collection card has not been completed 132, or the player piece is not on a finish space 134.

It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where any claim recites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claim should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

Inventions embodied in various combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through presentation of new claims in a related application. Such new claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure. 

1. A board game for a plurality of players comprising: a board having a plurality of board spaces; a plurality of player pieces adapted to move along the plurality of board spaces, wherein at least one of the plurality of player pieces includes a base portion and a figurine removably coupled to the base portion; and a plurality of accessories, each accessory being adapted to couple with at least one of the plurality of player pieces.
 2. The game of claim 1, further comprising collection cards that indicate a subset of the plurality of accessories that correspond to each player piece for a round of game play.
 3. The game of claim 1, wherein each player piece includes a visually unique base portion.
 4. The game of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of board spaces represents a store.
 5. The game of claim 1, wherein the figurine is a doll and the plurality of accessories represent clothing.
 6. The game of claim 1, wherein the base portion represents shoes.
 7. A board game incorporating doll play, the game comprising: a board having a plurality of board spaces; a plurality of player pieces in the form of dolls, the player pieces adapted to move along the plurality of board spaces; a plurality of accessories, each accessory being adapted to couple with at least one of the plurality of player pieces; a set of collection cards, wherein each collection card has collection indicia that indicate a subset of the plurality of accessories that correspond to one or more of the plurality of player pieces for a round of game play; and a set of item cards distributed among the plurality of board spaces, wherein each item card has reference indicia that link one or more of the plurality of accessories to the collection indicia.
 8. The game of claim 7, further comprising command cards having command indicia that indicate an allowed play option associated with at least one of the item cards and the plurality of accessories.
 9. The game of claim 7, wherein each item card is associated with a particular board space.
 10. The game of claim 9, wherein the particular board space represents a store.
 11. The game of claim 7, wherein the plurality of accessories represent clothing.
 12. A method of playing a board game including a board, a plurality of player pieces, a plurality of accessories, and a plurality of cards, the method comprising: distributing item cards among two or more of the board spaces; drawing a collection card to determine a subset of the plurality of accessories that is associated with a particular player piece; moving the particular player piece among the board spaces; viewing an item card associated with a particular board space; and coupling a corresponding accessory to the particular player piece if the item card matches a portion of the collection card.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising drawing a command card that indicates an allowed play option.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the allowed play option includes viewing an item card on a board space not occupied by the particular player piece.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the allowed play option includes coupling the corresponding accessory to the particular player piece prior to matching an item card to a portion of the collection card.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the allowed play option includes trading at least one of the collection card, the particular player piece, and coupled accessories with another player.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the allowed play option includes moving the particular player piece to a particular board space.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein coupling the corresponding accessory to the particular player piece represents dressing a doll.
 19. The method of claim 12, further comprising moving the particular player piece to a particular board space representing a finish space.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining a winner based on which of the plurality of player pieces is associated with a completed collection card. 